Executive Summary

This is an internship report based on an industrial training carried out at Cargo Management Service Ltd (CAMAS) Douala from July to August 2021 as a partial fulfilment of the Bachelor of Technology (B.Tech) in Logistics and Transport Management. The report is based on five chapters. The first chapter is the introduction, the intern’s aim (which is that of blending theory with practice on warehousing) and objectives, definition of some terms.

The second chapter centres on the historical background of the company, aims and objectives of the organization, not leaving out the structure. The third chapter is on the activities carried out by the intern, warehousing services which are the intern’s main area of focus. Here, a comparison is also made between theory and practice.

The fourth chapter dwells on a research carried out on the weaknesses of the organization, strengths of the organization with some positive experiences such as gaining professional skills not leaving out some negative experiences encountered during the period of practice. Chapter five which is the last chapter is the recommendation. It is an encouragement towards the practice of bilingualism. The conclusion is centred on that which the intern gained and what is required in the job market.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1. Background to the Internship

An internship is a period of work experience offered by an employer to give exposure to students on the working environment related to their field of study. There are various types of internships among which are; paid internship which involves a monthly stipend and unpaid internship where one works for free. Work from home internship, this type of internship allows the company to find interns out of their geographical location; this is a good option to merge school and internship.

The term ‘intern’ was first applied to medical students in the 1920s. Government and Business eventually adopted the term internship and then began to practice it in on college campuses in the 1960s. But it wasn’t until recently that internships became common for the average college students.

Completing an internship is not just a rite of passage for today’s college students. Some of these students get paid for their work. Some pay the companies to do the work. For some, it’s just a combination of the two.

During internships today, students work at companies in order to gain hands on experience in the world. And it evolved an over the 20th century experience as other fields incorporated supervised, practical experience into educational curriculum.

1.2. Aims and Objectives of the Report

1.2.1.   Aim

This internship was undertaken with the aim of blending theoretical knowledge with practical work in the field of Transport and Logistics. This internship was also undertaken for the purpose enabling the intern to gain practical understanding of the atmosphere of the day-to-day practice of the intern’s field of study.

1.2.2. Objectives

The internship report serves many purposes for the students. These are:

It helps the students to develop a good written and communication skill.

It helps the intern to acquire working experience.

The internship period enabled the intern to gain ideas from the experienced from the people working in the CAMAS Company, Douala.

It helps the student to be able to bring out the functions of the company.

The students should also be able to come out or identify the strengths and weaknesses of that company.

1.3.Operational definition of terms

Transit           

Transit refers to the act of passing across or through one place to another. It also refers to conveyance or transportation from one place to another as of persons or goods, especially, local transportation.

Warehouse

A warehouse is a large storage space or facility that receives goods and stores them for eventual distribution of customers or other businesses.

Warehousing

Warehousing refers to the act of storing goods in a large storage space. That is, the act of storing goods in a warehouse.

Custom clearance

Custom clearance involves the preparation and submission of documents required to facilitate export or imports into the country, representing client during customs examination, assessment, and payment of duty and co-taking delivery of cargo from customs after clearance along with documents.

Logistics

Logistics refers to the management of the flow of thing between the point of origin and the point of consumption to meet requirements of customers or corporations.

Transport

Transport refers to the movement of people and goods from place to place or from one location to another using various modes such as air, road, rail, water etc.

Bill of Lading

A bill of lading is a legal document issued by a carrier to a shipper that details the type, quantity, and destination of the goods being carried. It serves as a shipment receipt when the carrier delivers the goods at a predetermined destination.

Inventory

Inventory is a complete list of items such as property, goods in stock, or the contents of a building. They are goods and materials that a business holds for the ultimate goal for resale.

Storage

This is a process through which digital data is saved within a data storage device by means of computing technology.

Supply chain management

This is refers to the management of the flow of Goods and services and it includes all processes that transform raw materials into final products.

Purchasing

It is the organized acquisition of goods and services on behalf of the buying entity purchasing activities are needed to ensure that needed items are obtained in a timely manner and at a reasonable cost.

Procurement

Procurement is the process of finding and agreeing to terms and acquiring goods and services or work from an internal source, often through a tendering or a competitive building process.

Export

Export in international trade is a good or service produced in one country that is sold into another country.

Import

Import is a good or service bought in one country that was produced in another country.

Clearing Agent

This is a person who is used for getting goods officially from one country to another. Again, this person is defined as an agent who specifically takes care of the custom clearance aspect of the business. Such persons are also responsible for handling the necessary paperwork that involves the packaging of the goods.

Custom Regime

These are rules and regulations binding or governing the custom activities to facilitate the entrance and exit of goods in the custom territory.

Stevedore

Stevedores are responsible for loading and unloading a ship’s cargo and must follow the ship’s plan to ensure that cargo is loaded and unloaded correctly.

2.1.Historical Background of Cargo Management Services Ltd (CAMAS)

This internship was carried out in Cargo Management Services Ltd (CAMAS) located at Bonanjo-Douala, Littoral Region of Cameroon. Its head office is located in the naval base of the Douala autonomous port zone. It is situated on the left towards AMT NECOTRANS logistics base.

Like any other institution that flourishes, CAMAS has its own history or background where it started. CAMAS was established in 2006 at the Ancien Comptoir Colonial – Douala in the Littoral Region of Cameroon. It was registered in Douala and the personal property credited under the registration number RC/DLA/2006/B/233 and the postal code PB 1200100-Douala.

The company started with a total of 20 (twenty) workers made up of clearing agents, secretariat, accounting, transit and transport and logistics department. Since the creation of the company till date, there have been a lot of changes.

In 2006, CAMAS had a total of 20 (twenty) workers made up of clearing agents and head of department.

In the year 2012, the number of workers increased to 100 (one hundred), and today the company has more than 150 (one hundred and fifty) workers. Due to her high level of customer orientation, there has also been a great increase in output, an increase in infrastructure and an increase in personnel.

Following the expansion of the company, CAMAS increased in her activities to cover most customers’ regimes (IM8, IM5, IM4, IM7, etc). This led to the introduction of the customs software SYDUNIA in the company to ease the validation of files.

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